Companions in love and volunteering

View full sizeDoug Beghtel/ The OregonianDenny and Laura met through an online dating site and found their shared love of volunteering overseas and lots of activities keep them a happy, loving couple.

Denny and Laura Allen were born in the same hospital. They grew up in neighboring areas of Portland and both went to Oregon State University. But they didn't meet until they signed up for an online dating service.

Denny, 75, and Laura, 68, have been married for five years. When they're not wine-making, woodworking, mushrooming, kayaking or truffle-hunting, they're volunteering overseas with Public Health International -- the couple spent three weeks in Ecuador with the group last January -- and in Portland at the Geezer Gallery, which was founded by Laura's daughter.

Laura is a retired gifted education consultant, and Denny is a former quality control specialist and environmental health professional. He now works four days a year doing food inspections at Spirit Mountain.

The Allens live in a Wilsonville home -- which they share with two pugs, Georgia and Olive.

Q: How did you meet?

Laura: Well, we both were on different (online dating sites). True.com was the one that we met on. He contacted me, and I thought, Well ... looks pretty interesting because he did so much traveling. He had been to several countries doing volunteer service, and that appealed to me because I was thinking about doing Peace Corps or something, you know. I had been very clear in my profile, and well, frankly, I said if you voted for Bush don't bother to call. (laughs) So very similar political views, and social responsibility views and religious. Even though I've been divorced, I (preferred) not to find someone who (had) been divorced. He was a widower and had been with his wife for, what ...? Denny: Fifty years.

Laura: It's very difficult, particularly if you happen to be in education. Your friends are mainly females. Then also I didn't like the whole idea of a bar scene. I recommend using common sense and caution and being honest in your own portrayal of yourself because it's so important that you get someone who you're compatible with, actually. Denny: I went to a number of different lunch dates with some ladies. Just one lunch and we said, "Well, thank you, have a nice day!" And we went on our way.

Laura: He sent an email to me, and I being the teacher that I am, corrected his spelling, told him he needed spell check! (laughs) He also gave me his phone number and just said, "Call." Because he wanted to talk on the phone. And I was warning him that he shouldn't just be giving out his phone number. (laughs)

Denny: I told her that's just the way I was. I couldn't spell and I didn't care. (laughs) Still can't spell and still don't care!

Q: What international volunteer work do you do together?

Laura: The projects have to do with improvement in health, clean water. I've been on one to Ecuador, and that had to do with sanitary waste disposal. So you get to go and check out the dumps (laughs) and efficient use of the materials provided through the fundraising of PHI (Public Health International). I went as representing education interests and educating people in being able to take care of the equipment that they were provided with, and to use it and to maintain it and also general, basic public health of how to teach it in schools and also to adults.

Denny: We didn't start in the part of Ecuador that's populated. We went out (to) the indigenous people ... basically undeveloped areas back in the little villages. That's where we have done most of our work. Laura: Yeah, riding on the back of old pickups out on the roads with the dust, back into these villages. It's quite an experience. We went to this one village, and they're so glad to have somebody there to see to their needs. And we met an old woman ... what was she, about 80 or so?

Denny: Yeah.

Laura: She was so excited. She never thought she'd ever see a day when she had running water. She had to walk down this hill, probably half a mile or so to get to this place and get water and carry it back up.

Denny: Now she has a water tap out in front of her house.

Laura: Then the people made a lunch for us. They killed one of their chickens. It must have been about 40 years old. They apologized for what they were serving, which was fine. It was rice with the chicken on it, which we knew was really special because they don't have hardly any meat. And then, of course, there's the ubiquitous Pepsi. So we had Pepsi and that was also special for them. They were just very, very appreciative of anything we could do to help them. And we visited their school. They had like one math book, and no supplies. No walls. I talked to many teachers to find out what their immediate needs were. It was pretty obvious. First of all, desks, because there are just horrible chairs and stuff. And teaching materials and pencils and paper. Just the very, very basic stuff. And yet the school is obviously a very important place in the community and they really want their children to be educated.

Oregon love stories

This is the first installment in our new series. We'll still feature inspiring couples who have reached the 50-, 60- and 70-year mark in marriage, and we will also include Q&As with other notable couples in Oregon who have remarkable tales to tell. If you think you know of a couple we should talk to, contact us at living@oregonlive.com and include the words "love stories" in the subject field.

Denny: When we started, there were not that many children. But because we improved their water supply and their sewer supply and solid waste removal and so forth.

Laura: Dengue fever was killing all the kids.

Denny: In our spare time we were building these little playgrounds, (with) a swing and a slide and some framing so the locals put some palm fronds over the top for a roof. So we were doing that in our spare time when we weren't working on the water systems. They said the reason they had so many kids around was that we improved the water system. (pause) I get choked up!

Q: Did you think it was going to be difficult to find love at your age?

Denny: I didn't give it a lot of thought. I was looking for some lady to travel with me, to enjoy adventures with me. My first thought when I was on this dating site was, I just want a date. I don't want to get married. It just worked out that we were just way too compatible. I can't speak for her, but I consider myself a bleeding heart Democrat. Just quite liberal.

Laura: It's truly hard to find men in this age bracket who aren't Republicans! (laughs) I liked the fact that he was a reader. A lot of our interests are similar. I really wanted to do more traveling and have someone to discuss things with and talk through things. It's really companionship and travel and just (seeing) what happens.

Q: What advice would you give to other Oregonians looking for love?

Laura: Don't give up! (laughs)

Denny: I'd say, do a lot of talking. The main thing is, if you can talk to each other and you can find that you have the mutual interest, then go for it. Just keep an open heart.